David Berry Hart
David Berry Hart, M.D., F.R.C.P.E. (12 December 1851 – 10 June 1920) was a Scottish surgeon and teacher.[1]
Biography
David Berry Hart was born and died in Edinburgh. His grandfather, David Berry, had been a builder in Edinburgh. His wife was Jessie Smith Welsh Berry, a first cousin, and they had two daughters and two sons. A granddaughter was Marian Lines, a writer and actress.
He graduated M.B., C.M. from the University of Edinburgh in 1877. Specialising in obstetrics and gynaecology, he continued his studies and graduated M.D. with a gold medal and the Syme Surgical Fellowship on “The Structural Anatomy of the female pelvic floor”.
In 1882 he co-wrote the world-acclaimed Manual of Gynaecology (2 volumes) with Alexander Hugh Freeland Barbour.[2]
He was Secretary of the Edinburgh Obstetrical Society[3] between 1879 and 1883 and became President in 1890. He was also Librarian to the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.
Dr Hart lived in an exceptionally fine Georgian townhouse designed by Robert Adam at 29 Charlotte Square in Edinburgh's First New Town.[4]
He was an examiner in midwifery in the universities of Edinburgh, Oxford, Birmingham and Liverpool.
He was devoted to Liberalism and the United Free Church of Scotland.
Specialist Interests
Professor Hart wrote nine books and more than 70 papers. Among these were “Manual of Gynaecology”, “Guide to Midwifery” and “Some Phases of Evolution”. He contributed an article on “Hermaphrodism in Man” for “Encyclopaedia Medica”.
Regarded by others as a tour de force of dubious utility, he drew on Mendelian principles with singular vigour. The sides of the vulval vestibule are visible as Hart’s line[5] on the inside of the inner lips. Hart's line is the outer edge of the area and marks the change from vulvar skin to the smoother transitional skin of the vulva.
Honours
- Honorary Fellow of the American Gynaecological Society[6]
- Honorary Fellow of the Berlin Obstetrical Society german. ″Gesellschaft für Geburtshilfe und Gynäkologie in Berlin (GGG)″ [7]
- Corresponding Fellow of the Leipzig Obstetrical Society, german. ″Gesellschaft für Geburtshilfe zu Leipzig″
References
- ^ "Obituary: David Berry Hart, M.D., F.R.C.P.Edin". British Medical Journal. 19 June 1920. pp. 852–853. Retrieved 2009-05-04.
- ^ http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=8388782
- ^ Papers held at Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. "1840-1938: minutes of Edinburgh Obstetrical Society". Retrieved 2009-05-04.
- ^ Edinburgh and Leith Post Office Directories 1889 onwards
- ^ Hart's line of D. Berry Hart, A. H. Barbour: Manual of Gynecology. Edinburgh 1882; "the hymen separates the external genitals from the internal genitals"
- ^ http://www.agosonline.org/history/index.asp The American Gynecological and Obstetrical Society (AGOS) was formed through the union of the American Gynecological Society and the American Association Obstetricians and Gynecologists
- ^ GGG - Honorary Fellows